The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
A child safety seat (infant safety seat, child restraint system, child seat, baby seat, restraining car seat, car seat, etc.) is a seat designed specifically to protect children from injury or death during vehicle collisions.
A booster seat is a seat cushion that is used to raise a child's seating position. In general, most booster seats can be used for children who are between four and twelve years and between 40 and 59inches (100-150 cm) tall.
The booster seat does not have a seat belt system to hold the child in place. Instead, a vehicle seat belt goes around a child and the booster seat. The vehicle seat belt includes a shoulder belt and a lap belt which are separated by a tongue. The shoulder belt goes over the child's shoulder, and the lap belt goes over the child's thighs.
The booster seat may be divided into a high-backed booster seat having a back support, and a backless booster seat. The booster seat may have a pair of armrests.
Children have a large difference in body size depending on age, and even children of the same age are significantly different in body size depending on growth rate. We have discovered that it is desired to provide a method of efficiently restraining a child's body in addition to a correct seat belt fit to reduce injuries during vehicle collisions.
Meanwhile, the lap belt is routed under the armrest of the booster seat, and the shoulder belt is routed under or over the armrest of the booster seat according to the user's selection.
We have also discovered that when the shoulder belt is routed under the armrest of the booster seat, the shoulder belt is relatively far away from the child's neck and is positioned at the shoulder end of the child, so restraining the upper body of the child may become poor. Thus, as the upper body of the child moves forward to vehicle during a vehicle collision, the shoulder of the child come out of the shoulder belt, causing a serious injury to the child.
When the shoulder belt is routed over the armrest of the booster seat, we have discovered that the shoulder belt is positioned close to the child's neck, and the shoulder belt and the booster seat move independently of each other, so that the child's neck may get caught on the shoulder belt in a vehicle collision, which may lead to a fatal injury.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a method of preventing the shoulder belt from slipping off the child's shoulder by adjusting the position of a D-ring guiding the shoulder belt is being studied.
We have discovered that it is difficult to change the position of the D-ring, due to interference with other parts, and the like. For example, when an attempt to change the position of the D-ring toward the inboard is made, pressure of a luggage room and interference in seat folding would make this D-ring position change impossible. In addition, when an attempt to change the position of the D-ring toward the upper side of a vehicle body is made, interference with trim parting line and restrictions on C-pillar design would make this D-ring position change impossible. Furthermore, when an attempt to change the position of the D-ring toward the rear of the vehicle body is made, restrictions on C-pillar design and interference between the D-ring and a tailgate would make this D-ring position change impossible.
The matters described in the background section are provided to assist in understanding the background of the present disclosure, and may include any technical concept which is not considered as the prior art known to those skilled in the art.